Martha’s Vineyard features numerous open spaces where one can get away from the crowds and immerse themselves in the island’s natural beauty. One of these is Mass Audubon’s Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown.

Felix Neck features four miles of walking trails that wind through a variety of coastal habitat, from mixed scrub-oak and pitch-pine forest to salt marsh and open meadow—all teeming with birds. The sanctuary is also home to numerous mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. Frogs, box turtles, snakes, and even river otters can be spotted at the Sanctuary.

There are several excellent places to view the birdlife at Felix Neck, including the expansive marshes bordering Sengekontacket Pond, a shallow, tidal waterway behind State Beach. From May to early fall, the marsh is home to egrets, white and blue herons, plovers, kingfishers, osprey, ducks, cormorants, and yellowlegs. In the coastal forest surrounding the marsh, keep an eye out for warblers, blue jays, song sparrows, cardinals, wrens, downy woodpeckers, towhees, owls, hawks, chickadees, titmice, and more! The Sanctuary also maintains a covered viewing station overlooking a tidal creek that’s ideal for both bird watching and photography.

If you’re eager to learn more or get a closer look at some of the local fauna, step inside the Sanctuary’s Coastal Resiliency Center filled with tanks containing local species ranging from snakes and turtles to crabs and fish. Other exhibits detail the changing geology and ecology of the Vineyard, as well as Native American artifacts such as arrowheads and a wooden eel trap.

The Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary is open every day from dawn to dusk. Admission is $4 per adult, and $3 for seniors 65+ and children 2-12. Mass Audubon members get in free.

The Sanctuary also offers programs such as kayak tours, birding trips, and loads of children’s activities. Visit the website for details.